`Joey' a friend indeed at start of new season

HOLLYWOOD — Stage 24 on the Warner Bros. lot has been renamed "the Friends Stage," but it now clearly belongs to Matt LeBlanc, who last week began his 11th consecutive season playing the lovable but dimwitted Joey Tribbiani. "Friends," in case you hail from another galaxy, ended its highly successful 10-year run on NBC in May. Last Thursday (7 p.m., WMAQ-Ch. 5), the only friend whose life was not neatly wrapped up in the finale started over in "Joey," a spinoff that sets him in Los Angeles instead of New York, seriously pursuing his acting career and getting reacquainted with his family.

Recently, while rehearsing the fourth episode, LeBlanc was in his element. Joey's new Hollywood bachelor pad is filled with personal relics from "Friends": his toy shark and Rock'Em Sock'Em robots, his Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix poster and American flag, his hard-to-forget Etch-A-Sketch and a photo of Joey and Chandler (Matthew Perry). The only thing missing, well, besides his five best friends, was new sidekick Drea de Matteo ("The Sopranos"), who plays his sassy sister Gina and was out with strep throat for the third day in a row.

If the heat is on -- and there's no denying it with NBC's massive promotional campaign, Warner Bros. Studios' high expectations and widespread media coverage -- LeBlanc isn't showing it, even this day with his No. 2 missing in action. In fact, LeBlanc has been so busy helping to establish the show's voice that he says he has missed what is impossible for most of the rest of us to avoid: Joey's "Postcards From L.A." spots, which saturated NBC's Olympics broadcasts and have been appearing before movie previews in 6,500 theaters. In six commercials, Joey explores the city, offering the kinds of insights only Joey can: informing viewers that the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a burial ground for legendary stars or pointing out the Hollywood Hooters instead of the iconic Grauman's Chinese Theater behind him.

"Believe me, I live here, and when I leave, I just go straight home," says the 37-year-old LeBlanc, explaining how he has managed to elude himself. "When you're doing a new show, it's good that the actors spend a lot of time together. I've been functioning in a high-pressure environment for 10 years now, so I don't feel that stuff as much. My job is to make the show as funny as I can. I know I'll be as good in it as I was on `Friends,' and I know it's going to be a good show that is different from `Friends.' The rest is out of my hands."

A good lead

Pressure notwithstanding, beyond the "Friends" connection, "Joey" has a significant head start. Television critics and advertisers have generally praised the pilot and predicted its success, although few think it will attract as many viewers as its predecessor, which anchored the most lucrative night in television for many years.

"I didn't have the strongest expectations, because I've been so jaded about new comedies," said Shari Anne Brill, director of programming for the ad buying firm CARAT USA. "I thought `Friends' was on for two seasons too long. But Matt LeBlanc is very smart to realize that this character works for him. He is an endearing character that people will tune in to see. It's going to depend a lot on the rest of the ensemble and the story lines. But I think it's one of the best shows NBC has on its schedule."

Even NBC's competitors expect "Joey" will lure enough viewers to retain first-place ranking in the time slot against its competitors: CBS' ninth edition of "Survivor," ABC's "Extreme Makeover" and premiering Nov. 4, the second season of Fox's prime-time soap "The O.C."

"I don't think any of us are under any illusions that people aren't going to show up for `Joey,'" said CBS' Kelly Kahl, executive vice president of program planning and scheduling. "Every new show is a potential threat, but having gone up against `Friends' and really thriving, I think we've seen the toughest competition we have there."

Even if "Joey" becomes a hit for NBC, its competitors have plenty to strive for: the advertiser-coveted 18- to 34-year-olds who had already given up on "Friends" and an estimated $2 million in ad revenue now up for grabs because the spinoff isn't yet able to command the same ad rates the top-ranked "Friends" could. First in line is Fox's "The O.C.," which will air two specials Thursday and Sept. 23, with never-before-seen footage and bloopers from the first season as well as interviews with cast and crew.

"We're not arrogant enough to say that we have the kryptonite for `Joey' and `Survivor,' but `The O.C.' is red-hot, and if we can be competitive in the teen audience and the 18-to-34-year-old audience, we will have a home run," said Preston Beckman, executive vice president of strategic program planning for Fox.